Myth Busting

Today we had to be packed and ready to go at 8:00 a.m. For some, this meant a 7:00 a.m. "wake-up call." For others, there had to be two wake-up calls. Sebastian, our guide from Carpathian Travel Center, helped us load up the mini-bus and we were off, albeit, a little late. 

We are off on the first leg of our road trip away from Sibiu. We are headed to Bran, to see the Bran Castle.

The first leg of our journey would take us to Bran, where we would visit the Bran Castle, the legendary home of Dracula. The closest tie that "Vlad the Impaler" or "Vlad Tepes" had to the castle was that his grandfather Mircea the Elder once lived in the castle. By coincidence (or incredible luck) Bram Stoker’s depiction of Dracula’s castle could not have been better described had Bram Stoker actually been to Romania before the writing the novel. That being said, there are two other castles where there is evidence that Vlad Tepes did live.

Yes, you are seeing it with your own eyes, the Detroit "D" in front of Bran Castle - Dracula's alleged castled. 

In any event, this fortress is located between Transylvania and Wallachia, literally. The one side of the castle faces Transylvania while the other side faces Wallachia. There was additional evidence of this in the castle. The walls (as seen from the windows) facing Transylvania were considerably smaller than those facing Wallachia. You don’t need to guard against an attack from your own citizens. There was also a view of an ancient wall which once stood below the castle walls. This was an early version of border control.

This window faces Transylvania. You'll see the difference in the depth of the walls when you look below.

This window faces Wallachia. Notice how thick these walls are? They were fortified to withstand attacks.

In the middle of this picture are the ruins of the outer wall of the Castle. This wall extended around the Castle and served as a border crossing.

Sebastian shared some historical highlights of the castle’s history. Historical Timeline for Bran Castle

It's easier for us to share the link to the history than to recap it all. We learned alot, for sure. Most importantly, we know that the castle has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes (Dracula)! Count Dracula: The Myth

View into the courtyard

The furnishings throughout the house were beautiful. Very comfortable and well-suited for a castle. I bet the interior designer for this job doesn't furnish too many castles on a regular basis.

Madame Jeler 

The original space heater. Just fill with hot coals and move the disc to whatever part of the room you are sitting in!

Yes, just your ordinary family room, with a piano and cozy chairs.

We didn't realize it at the time, but the snow was starting to move in already, mid-morning.

The Myth Busters!

Entering the hall with suits of armor.

A view from another angle.

The park at the base of Bran Castle.

Folk Art and More

On Wednesday morning we were treated to a "fashion show", with the docent showing us traditional Transylvanian clothing. She explained that at one time, the woman's shirt was actually in three parts - the front, the back, and the sleeves, which were frequently made of several pieces of cloth (the puffier the sleeves the more status and/or wealth the woman had.

We also visited one of the Galleries where we learned about different "artisans" including the tanner and the hat maker.

These are examples of traditional Transylvania clothing.

Mid-morning, the group was split into “room” groups and sent out into the Museum on a treasure hunt, of sorts. Every team was dispersed in a different direction in the Museum to find the answers to questions provided by the staff. After a few grumbles and with the reassurance that they were expected for lunch at the end of the treasure hunt, the four groups fanned out.

To really make things more interesting, the snow was falling at a rate of about an inch an hour. It did slow down after a few hours, but there was accumulated snow on many surfaces – and this, the first day of spring. This created a challenge for everyone, as Madame suggested that a sketch be drawn of each person’s favorite monument in the Museum (Despite the soggy paper, many meaningful drawings were returned).

At reflection on Wednesday evening, everyone shared aspects and monuments of the Museum that they hadn't noticed during Tuesday's tour. A few people got some glimpses into the monuments by simply walking onto a porch or peering into an open door. Others were drawn back to monuments because of their striking features (including color and style).

Hop-scotch?! 

The school house and the playground blend in with the rest of the museum.

Replicas of some of the water mills in the Museum. 

    

The same bridge, 24 hours apart. On Tuesday, there was a chance that spring was right around the corner. On Wednesday, about two inches of snow covered that same bridge.

 Snow-covered benches along the path.

 Everything took on a different look blanketed in white.

After lunch and a bit of a break, the group headed to another workshop. This time we headed to a cooking class. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the placinta was already prepared.  All that was left was the eating. 

The cheese placinta is on the right, while the apple is on the left. Everyone had their favorite and everyone ate both kinds!

Everyone had a chance to get their hands dirty, so to speak. There was dough to be kneaded and delicious "donuts" to be fried. Despite not allowing the dough to properly rise (one needs several hours), there was also a chance to make very delicious dough-knots - what's not delicious about something deep-fried and covered in powdered sugar? 

Part of this workshop experience was getting a taste, feel and real sense of working and being in a home. This monument has all the working parts, including the wood-burning stove! 

Olivia, wearing a Hungarian/Saxon apron, and Sara, wearing a Romanian apron, were ready to get started making dough.

 These delicious deep-fried treats taste great right out of the pan!

Arranging the treats to be shared by all.

Eliza taking a break for shooting pictures to try one of the donuts

It was important to shoot a picture before everything got eaten.

Everything was prepared right on this stove top!

 Luisa and Veronica rolling the very versatile break dough into a thin sheet. Both were using basic rolling pins. Veronica had one that was simply a branch from a tree while Luisa was using one that was carved from a piece of wood.

The sheets of dough were cut into strips and then the strips cut into sections that were tied into a "knot" and deep fried. 

The workshop was very meaningful for everyone. It was a great way to draw the afternoon to an end. Tired from the day's activities, the group stayed in for dinner and ordered pizza. They also had to pack everything in order to be ready to hit the road in the morning for Bran and Cristian. 

The evening reflection was interesting. Sara and Katie followed up their first question about what everyone had noticed in the Museum that was different from the day before with a question about how traditions are passed on in our families.  There were a variety of answers, from no traditions at all to several cooking and food-related responses. The question was one that invited each person to think about what traditions they would like to pass on to their children one day. 

Traditional Romanian Crafts

We had the privilege of working with Ioana and her mother on traditional rag masks. They came in traditional dress to help set the stage. We learned that the masks were made for New Year's Eve celebrations and were used to ward away evil spirits, thus setting the tone for the new year. The full-size masks are actually worn to parties.

Ioana shared the tradition of the "martisoare" with the group. A "martisoare" is a small, decorative adornment, worn by women on their jacket or sweater, given by men to women, children to mothers/teachers or children to children. They are symbols of good luck and health (a four-leaf clover or a horse show, for example). Symbollically red and white thread are used to show the purity of the winter and the emergence of spring. The martisoare is given on March 1. Each person in the group received their own.

Ioana showing a martisoare.

The following are examples of full-sized masks made by Ioana and her mother:

The group getting an inttroduction to basic stitching 101

Getting closer to a finished product.

The events of the day concluded with dinner at Hanul din Tulghes,  the second of two restaurants within ASTRA Museum.  After dinner, the students headed back for journaling and reflection, asking themselves, "What was a moment today in which you felt spiritual?" and "What can you take away from today and apply to your life?"

ASTRA Museum

Tuesday morning arrived with a bite in the air and flakes falling out of the sky. The group bundled up for a morning walk through the 10 km living museum known as ASTRA. To say the ASTRA is an "open-air" museum doesn't really do it justice. And by comparing it to Greenfield Village, one trivializes the importance of the project which established the open-air museum with folk technology as its main theme. ASTRA, which had its early beginnings in 1861, contains houses and workshops of the traditional Romanian folk culture from the pre-industrial era. Over 300 houses and other buildings are situated in the forest around two lakes with over 10 km of walkways.

That's a mouthful to take in before breakfast. At 9:30 this morning, Adi picked us up to take to ASTRA (this is a bit deceptive since our hostel is in ASTRA and the pathway to the main building is outside our front door). We would spend the better part of the day discovering cultural diversity through a variety of structures.

10 km!

The church where we will have evening mass on Saturday. The Church was relocated in ASTRA from Biserica din Bezded.

An example of a two-story home, signifying family wealth. 

The temperature was just cold enough for snowflakes to fall.

                                       

                                                  The first oil refinery was not in Texas or Dubai. It was in Romania.

The view across one of the two lakes in the Museum.

The home of the gold mine owner. His home illustrates his wealth.

A gold mine!

This church is the oldest monument in the museum. It was constructed in 1672. 

Women had their own "room" in the church. It was the first room one entered.

The doorways were incredibly short. The intention was to keep the Ottomans on horseback out of the churches. The horses shied away from the short, narrow doors. 

The people of the time painted themselves into the paintings on the wall. A most noteworthy example is the painting of Ottomans on either side of  Jesus when he was crucified on Calvary. 

The story of Adam and even. Painting the stories from the Bible on walls and ceilings was an efficient and practical way to deliver the message.

ASTRA has the largest collection of windmills. They also have a good number of water mills, as well. 

An example of a home of a wealthy family. Their draft/trade is in pottery. The kiln, shown below, was in the courtyard. 

The kiln of the potter. 

Lunch came at just the right time. It was cold and damp outdoors. Everyone enjoyed good Romanian food at Carciuma din Batrani.

A visit from Madame Jeler's parents!